IN HUMAN Synonyms: 209 Similar and Opposite Words

inhuman

adjective

(ˌ)in-ˈhyü-mən

Definition of inhuman

as in oppressive

difficult to endure kept the prisoners in criminally inhuman conditions

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in ruthless

having or showing a lack of sympathy or tender feelings an inhuman indifference to the sufferings of other human beings

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in brutal

having or showing the desire to inflict severe pain and suffering on others a classic sociological study showing just how inhuman an individual can become when given absolute power over another

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of inhuman The arrangement is too polished and represents something which is inhuman. — Charlie Harding, Vulture, 15 May 2026 To drag a man in fetters into the grand illuminated temple of liberty, and call upon him to join you in joyous anthems, were inhuman mockery and sacrilegious irony. — Jeremy Mennis, The Conversation, 1 May 2026 The power of his work resides not in ideological argument or moral screed but in the observation of characters struggling to maintain their humanity in an inhuman system. — Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 17 Apr. 2026 Here, the realism performs the function of grounding the reader solidly within a world that is, at first sight, remarkably grotesque, alien, even inhuman, as removed from us as possible. — Literary Hub, 16 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for inhuman

Recent Examples of Synonyms for inhuman

Adjective

Above 65, the air is much more humid, and the heat can feel oppressive.

— Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 23 July 2026
Despite the oppressive heat, Xavi signs every single shirt and takes photos with members of the Johan Cruyff Foundation.

— Jay Harris, New York Times, 22 July 2026

Definition of oppressive

Adjective

San Francisco has already seen right-hander Hayden Birdsong undergo Tommy John surgery earlier this year, and losing McDonald for an extended period of time would be another brutal blow for the pitching staff.

— Justice delos Santos, Mercury News, 25 July 2026
This thing—the military—aims, at least in Harlow’s eyes, to turn boys into tools for brutal battlefield aims.

— Jasper Craven, New Yorker, 24 July 2026

Definition of brutal

Adjective

But some have pushed back on the idea that the threat of harsh legal punishment could prevent the gatherings in the first place.

— Safiyah Riddle, Fortune, 25 July 2026
Even if it's erased later, everyone now knows it can be drawn again, along the same criteria or something harsher, and that no one outside Washington controls where that line lands next.

— Ashish Bhatia, Forbes.com, 25 July 2026

Definition of harsh

Adjective

The red card was rescinded; the team was unmoored; conspiracies grew overnight, like mushrooms; and a merciless Belgium swept in and trampled, 4–1, on what remained.

— Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 17 July 2026
Soon enough, Karl’s seemingly foolproof blackmail scheme devolves into a merciless, dog-eat-dog fight for survival, and the two men are locked in a cutthroat collision course, their fates now inextricably linked.

— Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 15 July 2026

Definition of merciless

Adjective

But in one of the cruelest ironies in rock history, Berry suffered a devastating car crash not far from the actual Dead Man’s Curve in Los Angeles on April 12, 1966.

— Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 19 July 2026
In the face of climate change, such woo woo aphorisms seem ridiculous, naive, and cruel.

— Josh Fox, IndieWire, 17 July 2026

Definition of cruel

Adjective

Oscar Wilde, for example, reposes beneath a hulking deity whose iconoclastic castration, back in 1961, did little to restrain pilgrims seeking to smear red lips across his stony physique.

— Emily Cox, ARTnews.com, 22 May 2026
Instead of looking like a sleek urban loft, the room can quickly start to feel cold, stony, and impersonal.

— Natasha Bazika, Martha Stewart, 9 May 2026